# Administrative Disaster Declaration of a Rural Area for the Mescalero Apache Tribe
**AGENCY:**
U.S. Small Business Administration.
**ACTION:**
Notice.
**SUMMARY:**
This is notice of an Administrative disaster declaration of a rural area for the Mescalero Apache Tribe dated February 23, 2026.
*Incident:* Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides.
**DATES:**
Issued on February 23, 2026.
*Incident Period:* June 23, 2025 through August 5, 2025.
*Physical Loan Application Deadline Date:* April 24, 2026.
*Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan Application Deadline Date:* November 23, 2026.
**ADDRESSES:**
*Visit the MySBA Loan Portal at https://lending.sba.gov* to apply for a disaster assistance loan.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Sharon Henderson, Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street SW, Suite 6050, Washington, DC 20416, (202) 205-6734.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
Notice is hereby given as a result of the Administrator's disaster declaration of a rural area applications for disaster loans may be submitted online using the MySBA Loan Portal *https://lending.sba.gov* or in person at locally announced locations. For further assistance please contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center by email at *[email protected]* or by phone at 1-800-659-2955. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
The following areas have been determined to be adversely affected by the disaster:
*Tribal Area:* Mescalero Apache Tribe.
The Interest Rates are:
| | Percent |
| --- | --- |
| | |
| Homeowners with Credit Available Elsewhere | 5.625 |
| Homeowners without Credit Available Elsewhere | 2.813 |
| Businesses with Credit Available Elsewhere | 8.000 |
| Businesses without Credit Available Elsewhere | 4.000 |
| Private Non-Profit Organizations with Credit Available Elsewhere | 3.625 |
| Private Non-Profit Organizations without Credit Available Elsewhere | 3.625 |
| | |
| Business and Small Agricultural Cooperatives without Credit Available Elsewhere | 4.000 |
| Private Non-Profit Organizations without Credit Available Elsewhere | 3.625 |
The number assigned to this disaster for physical damage is 214486 and for economic injury is 214490.
The states which received an SBA Administrative rural declaration are New Mexico.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 59008)
(Authority: 13 CFR 123.(b).)
James Stallings,
Associate Administrator, Office of Disaster Recovery & Resilience.